Crystal Palace will host West Ham United at Selhurst Park on Sunday, looking to build on last week’s win over Liverpool.
Crystal Palace are coming into the game against West Ham United on the back of a morale-boosting win over Liverpool at Anfield, and they will be reasonably confident of grinding out a good result at home. Crystal Palace ended their winless run with a positive result at Anfield and they will be full of confidence and momentum right now.
It has been a disappointing season for Crystal Palace, and they are currently 14th in the league table. The Eagles will be hoping to finish the season as strongly as possible. On the other hand, West Ham are eighth in the league table, and they have picked up just one win from the last six league matches.
The Hammers are coming into this game on the back of a defeat against Fulham at home, and this will be a difficult outing for them. When the two sides met earlier this season in December, they played out a 1-1 draw, and this will be an evenly-matched contest as well.
Team News & Tactics
Crystal Palace
Sam Johnstone misses out with an elbow injury, while Cheick Doucoure has a calf problem. Marc Guehi is ruled out with a knee injury, Rob Holding has an ankle injury, Chris Richards has a knee problem, and Matheus Franca misses out with a groin injury.
Dean Henderson will start in goal for the Eagles here. In the back three, Joel Ward will start alongside Joachim Andersen and Jefferson Lerma. Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will start as the full-backs. They will look to protect the back three and help out in the final third.
Adam Wharton and Will Hughes will start in the central midfield pairing, and they will look to keep things compact in the middle of the park and break down opposition attacks. Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise will start as the attacking midfielders, and they will create goalscoring opportunities in the final third. Finally, Jean-Phillippe Mateta will lead the line for Palace.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Ward, Andersen, Lerma; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Eze, Olise; Mateta
West Ham United
Alphonse Areola, Jarrod Bowen, Nayef Aguerd, Konstantinos Mavropanos, and Kalvin Phillips will all undergo late fitness tests. But they are expected to be fit and available for this game. George Earthy is the only injury absentee for West Ham United due to concussion.
The Hammers will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Lukasz Fabianski in goal. Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out in the attack and keep things compact defensively. Kurt Zouma will start in the central defensive partnership alongside Angelo Ogbonna.
As for the midfield unit, Tomas Soucek will start alongside Edson Alvarez in the double pivot. The two players will look to break up opposition attacks and shield the back four.
Jarrod Bowen and Mohamed Kudus will start in the wide areas, and the two players will look to add goals and creativity to the side. Lucas Paqueta should reprise the central attacking midfield role, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities in the final third. Michail Antonio is likely to lead the line for West Ham against Crystal Palace.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Palmieri; Soucek, Alvarez; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
Key Stats
- West Ham United have scored at least three goals in their last three away matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions.
- Crystal Palace have scored at least two goals in their last four home matches against West Ham United in all competitions.
- 26 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two teams. Both sides have scored in the past 13 meetings.
- West Ham have failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 top-flight matches.
- West Ham have lost eight of their last 12 away games in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Jarrod Bowen
The 27-year-old has 15 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League and he will look to continue his impressive run of form and guide West Ham to a strong finish. He should be able to take advantage of Crystal Palace’s vulnerabilities this season and he will look to make his mark in the final third.
Bowen is our key player to watch out for and the Hammers will lead him to step up and deliver if they want to win the game.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham United
Both teams will be desperate for the three points here, and this is likely to be a close contest. Crystal Palace will fancy their chances at home, especially after the surprise win over Liverpool away from home last week.
Meanwhile, West Ham have a quality squad at their disposal, and they will be expected to grind out positive results in these games especially if they want to compete in Europe. The two sides are likely to cancel each other out here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 draw between Crystal Palace and West Ham.